Automatically-acting machine for making a twisted cord or thread and for reeling the same.



L. A. SUBERS & E. MOSMAN.

AUTOMATICALLY ACTING MACHINE FOR MAKING A TWISTED CORD 0R THREAD AND FOR BEELING THE SAME.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 16, 1910.

Patented Sept. 24, 1912.

12 SHEETS-SHEET l.

. L. A. SUBERS & E. MOSMAN.

AUTOMATICALLY ACTING MACHINE FOR MAKING A TWISTED CORD 0R THREAD AND FOR REELING THE SAME.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 16, 1910.

Patented Sept.'24, 1912.

12 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

L. A. SUBERS & E. MOSMAN.

AUTOMATICALLY ACTING MACHINE FOR MAKING A TWISTED CORD 0R THREAD AND FOR REELING THE SAME.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 16, 1910.

1 039 2 1 1 Patented Sept. 24, 1912.

mo 12 SHEETS-SHEET 3. 32 /33 j I 9 if 51 j 1 1 7 z 3 7055555.- 4 ]571/5/7/015 MW ce, 4. W

L. A. SUBERS & E. MOSMAN.

AUTOMATICALLY ACTING MACHINE FOR MAKING A TWISTED 001m 0R THREAD AND FOR NBBLING' THE SAME.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 16, 1910.

1 039 211. Pat nted Sept. 24, 1912. 13f 12 sums-sum 4..

a I '22 06 16 w/ m J" 5 5 60.? lg

gig 62L l UN I 0 4 WIN bu MN 6 WNW T l" H 8 lHN i 't I 7 figs- I L A. SUBBRS & B. MOSMAN.

AUTOMATICALLY ACTING MACHINE FOR MAKING A TWISTED 00m) OR THREAD AND FOR REBLING THE SAME. APPLICATION FILED MAY 16, 1910.

1,03 9,2 1 1 Patented Sept. 24, 1912.

12 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

we'lnesses L. A. SUBERS & E. MOSMAN. AUTOMATICALLY ACTING MACHINE FOR MAKING A TWISTED 001w 0R THREAD AND FOR REELING THE SAME.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 16, 1910.

Patented Sept. 24,1912.

12 SHEETBSHEET 6.

a M y @W Manley Witnesses x 23/ L. A. SUBERS 6: E. MOSMAN. AUTOMATICALLY ACTING MACHINE FOR MAKING A TWISTED com) 0R THREAD AND FOR REELING THE SAME,

APPLICATION FILED MAY 16, 1910.

1,039,21 1. Patented Sept. 24, 1912.

12 SHEETS-SHEET 7.

(l/e'lnessm Law )4 tors A! orncy L. A. SUBERS & E. MOSMAN. AUTOMATICALLY ACTING MACHINE FOR MAKING A.TWISTED 00m) OR THREAD AND FOR REELING THE SAME.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 16, 1910. 1,039,21 1. Patented Sept.24,1912.

12 SHEETS-SHEET 8.

'lllllmm witnesses L. A. SUBERS & E. MOSMAN. AUTOMATIUALLY ACTING MACHINE FOR MAKING A TWISTED com) OR THREAD AND FOR REELING THE SAME.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 16, 1910.

1 039 21 1 Patented Sept. .24, 1912.

w jig 7i 12 sums-sum 9. I I y 1 J "WWW/MG;

Inventors 4 5 Ja flxiua P, M W

ttorneq' witnesses L. A. SUBERS & E. MOSMAN. I

AUTOMATICALLY ACTING MACHINE FOR MAKING A TWISTED CORD OR THREAD AND FOR REELING THE SAME.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 16, 1910.

1,039,21 1 u v Patented Sept. 24, 1912.

I 12 SHBETSSHEET l0.

v 2 I, 0 jig/.18. 2 40 A I 4 Z12 dl/z'fnesses. Inuen ford L. A. SUBBRS & EU MOSMAN. AUTOMATICALLY ACTING MACHINE FOR MAKING A TWISTED 001 .1) 0R THREAD AND FOR REELING THE SAME.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 16, 1910.

Inventors Attorney witnesses- L. A. SUBERS dz E. MOSMAN.

AUTOMATICALLY ACTING MACHINE FOR MAKING A TWISTED CORD OR THREAD AND FOR,

REELING THE SAME.

APPLIOATION rigg ng 16, 1910.

Patented Sept. 24, 1912.

12 BHEBTBBHEET 12.

M/z'lnesses: [mrentors a a M j WW 5 hu'A/k M J Attorney UNITED STATES PATENT ornioa.

LAWRENCE A. SUBERS AND ERNEST MOSMAN; OF CLEVELAND, OHIO; SAID MOSMLAN ASSIGNOR T SAID SUBERS.

AUTOMATICALLY-ACTING MACHINE FOR MAKING A TWISTED CORD OR THREAD AND FOR REELING THE SAME.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 24,1912.

Application filed May 16, 1910. Serial No. 561,693.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, LAWRENCE A. SU- BERS and ERNEST MOSMAN, citizens of the United States, and residents of Cleveland, in the county of Cuya-hoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatically-Acting Machines for Making a Twisted Cord or Thread and for Reeling the Same, of which we hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The objects of the invention are to provide an automatically operating machine for making a twisted and coated cord or thread and for reeling the same. This machine includes automatically acting devices for twisting together the strands, yarns or other fibrous elements which comprise a cord or thread in such a manner as to form said cord or thread under a controllable amount of tension, and so arranged as to give to each yarn an equal amount of stretching prior to twistin the yarns together and to give the finishe cord or thread a predetermined amount of stretching not suflicient to partor weaken the fibers, but adapted to produce in a continuous manner a cord or thread which when twisted will have a uniform predetermined amount of stretching applied to it throughout its length. Such a cord or thread after stretching is only capable of a predetermined amount of further extension and is designed to be applied in a fabric while still under a predetermined tension. A fabric formed of such cords or threads all equally stretched will be possessed of avreater amount of tensile strength than a fabrlc in which the component cords or threads running in one direction have alike in all directions. This is essential 1n a tubular fabric where if in any part a cord a less amountof stretching from the cords or threads running in a different direction, consequently the first mentioned fabric formed from threads made by these devices, must necessarily extend or elon ate or thread should be more extensible than in another part or parts the fabric would either expand, contract, elongate or shorten unequally when placed under internal pressure, external compression or other stress,

andthere would not be a uniform action on ric would be correspondingly weakened,

since some of the cords or threads would give way before others.

Further objects of the invention are to provide automatically actin means for preventing the catching and breaking of the several yarns or strands as they are drawn from the yarn tubes, which are inclosed in suitable receptacles, and to provide necessary rotatable supporting and guiding means, for the several yarns, and also a stationary single twist holder provided with a single perforation through which all the yarns pass from said rotating guiding means while being twisted together, the twist holder being separable under pressure to permit a knot or other obstruction to pass through Without breaking the cord or thread, and also means for giving vertical adjustment to the twist holder, whereby the angle of the twist can be varied relatively to the guiding means aforesaid.

It also includes a receptacle for the coating material in a substantially fluid or viscous condition, and means for adjusting the receptacle relatively to the twist holder so that the twist holder can be exposed above the coating material in the receptacle for accessibility thereto for adjustment 7 or change in the angle of thetwist, or for cleaning it if it should become clogged or out of order.

Further objects are to provide suitable tension devices for the yarns and a pulling device adapted to draw the finished cord or thread against the resistance of the tensio devices.

The invention includes also means for 0htaining a smooth, even, and uniform character of twist of the component yarns and to prevent any one yarn from becoming centrally located and the others from twisting upon it.

A further'object is to provide means for automatically stopping the machine when any. one yarn or all'of the yarns or the finished cord or thread is broken, and to prevent the tangling of the yarns or fouling of the mechanism. Thisautomatically acting means for vstopping the machine is dcsigned to remove the belt from a driving to a loose pulley and also to operate a braking device.

Further objects are to provide automatically acting means for stopping the machine when a yarn tube becomes empty or nearly so.

The invention further comprises instrumentalities for permitting the tension wheels tube and means for preventing the yarns from catching in the yarn tube receptacles while being unwound therein, and means for permitting free delivering of the yarns to the guides and twist holder, so that no possible variation in tension may be caused by want of the free delivery of the several yarns thereto.

Further objects are to provide means for automatically varying at predetermined in tervals or time the speed of rotation of the cord or thread pulling device in relation to the speed of rotation of the head containing the yarn tubes which remains constant. By this means a thread is formed which has regularly recurring zones or portions in which a predetermined number of twists per lIlCh are formed alternating with the intermediate zones or portions in which a dltl'erent number of twists er inch are formed. This is accomplishe by the automatically and regularly recurring changes 1n speed with which the thread is drawn through the twist holder, from the tubes in the revolving head and includes the mechamsm whereby these changes in speed occur at predetermined intervals and extend through predetermined periods of time, so as to g1ve a predetermined length to each zone 1n the thread, all yarns composing this thread being under an approximately constantly equal tension while being twisted into a finished cord or thread. It. may be mentioned that a fabric formed of. this thread will contain zones or portions which are more extensible or can be stretched more than other portions, and may be locatedwherever the same may be desired.

Further objects are to provide means for. coating the exterior of the twisted thread to any predetermined thickness and for removing any superfluous coating therefrom. Further objects of the invention are to provide a thread reel upon which the finfabric.

ished thread is wound and by means of which the separate zones or portions differently twisted can be kept separate from each other, and from said reel the thread may be wound upon a tube, spool or any other suitable holder from which the tinished cord or thread may be formed into a Means are also provided whereby the portions of the reel on which the zones of thread containing the greatest number of twists to the inch can afterward be relaxed so as to make these portions or zones as expansible as possible after they are incorporated in a fabric. The same device can also be used to stretch the zones of thread which lie thereon. a

The invention further comprises the com bination and arrangement of the various operating parts and construction of preferred forms of details as hereinafter described, shown in the accompanying drawings and specifically pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a ,front elevation of a twisting machine wherein theautomatically acting devices herein described are incorporated; Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a reel adapted to hold a wire or a fibrous cord or thread which can be used as a core upon which the yarns can be wound or twisted if desired Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of the machine on line a a Fig. 4 with the rotatable head for the yarn tubes removed; Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the rotatable head for the yarn tubes, showing the tension devices rotatable therewith; Fig. i is a vertical longitudinal section of the rotatable head of the device and end view of the lower part of the machine; Fig. 4" is an enlarged section of a portion of the bottom of a thread tube showing the resilient cushion therein; Fig. 4" is a plan view of the cup for coating material, through which the yarns pass prior to twisting and in which they are twisted; Fig. 4 is a plan view of the-belt shifter; Fig. 5 is a vertical longitudinal section through the lower portion of the twisting machine showing the operating means for the various parts and the coating material reservoir and twist holder and support for the various parts; Fig. 5" is a side elevation of the tension twisting device; Fig. 5 is a front elevation thereof; Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the thread guide mounted on the base of the machine; Fig. 5 is an edge view thereof; Fig. 6 is an enlarged elevation in detail of the friction disk and thread pulling drums, showing the gears for changing the speed of the thread pulling drums, the operating clutch and clutch shifting mechanism; Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section of the clutch; Fig. 6" is a face view of one side thereof; Fig. 6*- is a vertical section of the coating material tank through which the thread passes to the reel; Fig. 7 is an elevation of the same mechanism shown in Fig. 6 showing the opposite edges of the parts; Fig. 7 a is a vertical central section of twist former; Fig. 8 is a front view of the same portion of the device which is adapted to the production of different twisted zones in the thread; Fig. 9 is a side elevation thereof; Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the worm wheel and single and double levers and shifting lever which operate the speed changing clutch for'the thread pulling drums; in the position in which the slow speed driving gear is employed; Fig. 9 is a plan view of the worm wheel, and shifting levers; Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the worm wheel showing levers for operating the shifting carriage which controls the winding of the thread on the reel; Fig. 10 is a longitudinal section of one of the rotatable grooved tension drums; Fig. 11 is a vertical longitudinal section of the twist former and separable twist holder showing the needle foundation upon which the twist is formed; Fig. 11 is a plan view of the twister former; Fig. 12 is a vertical longitudinal. section of the bevel gear which rotates the head and of the steel tube secured therein to the upper end of which the head supporting the yarn tubes is secured. In this view the vertical guides for the several yarns are shown and the means for closing the contacts of an electric circuit when one or more of the yarns break or separate. Fig. 13 is' a transverse section on line in m Fig. 12 showing the several contact segments and brush adapted to engage therewith; Fig. 14 is a longitudinal section of the insulated pivotal support for said brush; Fig. 15 is a plan view of the separable twist holder showing the closing spring therefor; Fig. 16 is a side elevation thereof; Fig. 17 shows the bottom of the bevel gear which operates the rotatable head and shows the segmental contacts in transverse section; Fig. 18 is a side elevation of the worm wheel showing the parts in position when the high speed gear is in operation to drive the drums; Fig. 19 is a similar view showing the positions of the parts just before. the shifting lever moves to throw in the slow speed; Fig. 20 is a transverse section of the worm wheel and dogs thereon; Fig. 21 is a bottom view of the clutch fork; Fig. 22 is a vertical section through the activev pulling drum and speed gears and clutch therefor;.Fig. 23 p is a plan view of the reel showing the mechanism for guiding the thread thereto in such a manner as to apply different zones to different portions thereupon, whereby each zone is always placed in a certain position ,upon the reel; Fig. 24 is a side elevation thereof; Fig. 25 is an enlarged side elevation of the worm wheelland levers for op erating' the mechanism for feeding the thread tothe reel; Fig. 26 is a transverse seEtion for one of the reel flanges showing a locking device for one of the eccentric rods; Fig. 27 is an enlarged view of the automatic feeding device for feeding the thread to the reel; Fig. 28 is an end elevation of the same; Fig. 29 is an enlarged transverse section thereof on the line m m of Fig. 27; Fig. 30 is a longitudinal central section of a portion thereof including the thread carrier.

In these views 1 is one form of a frame or standard upon which-the moving parts of the twisting machine ma be mounted, 1 is a stand or support there or.

2 is the driving shaft provided with the fixed and loose pulleys 3 and 4 respectively, upon these pulleys a belt 70 is moved alternately by means of a belt shifter fork 71. (See Figs. 1, 2, 4, and 5.) Upon this shaft 2 is adjustably secured by means of a spline 5 in one portion and groove 5 in the other portion a friction driving roll 6 adjustable on the shaft 2 by means of a set screw 6, which operates againstthe friction disk 7 mounted in turn upon shaft 8 at right angles to the shaft 2.

9 and 10 are ulling drums preferably provided with dlflerential grooves 9 and 10 respectively, by means of which the finished cord or thread is drawn through the machine against the resistance of the tension devices. One of these pulling drums 9 is operatively connected with the friction disk shaft 8 by means of change gears 200, 201, 208 and 209. (See Figs. 1, 6, 7, 9 and 22).

Upon the frame 1 is mounted the head 11 whichis rotatable upon the frame and is provided with a flange 11 which supports the tubes 12, 12, made of paper or any other suitable material, upon which are wound the yarns which are to be twisted together to form the desired cord or thread. The e tubes 12, 12 and the yarn upon them are usually designated yarn tubes. The head is provided with a vertical hollow stem 13. This head is preferably formed of light material such as aluminum and is provided with a second lower brake flange 15, against which a brake band 16 engages. Rotatable with this head and secured thereto is shown a steel tube 14:, which has a vertical bearing in a horizontal-portion 17 of the frame 1. (See Fig. 5). Secured to the lower end of the tube 14 is a pinion or bevel gear 18,

which is engaged by a corresponding larger bevel gear 19 mounted upon the shaft 2. and therefore is adapted to rotate the head 11. at a high rate of speed. A ball bearing for the head 'is shownin Fig. 5 where 20 is a bush ing preferably of bronze in which the tube rotates, 21, 21, are the upper and lower halves of the ball bearing and 22, 22, are the steel balls.- In this rnanner the head re- 'volves'with the minimum amount of friction-.

.and wear of the parts and hence with re- .duced danger of change in alinement of the operating parts.

It will be seen that While the relative speeds of. the shaft 2 and head 11 are fixed by the relative diameters of the gears 18 and 19, the speed of the friction disk relative to the twisting speed can be varied by radial adjustment of the friction roller 6 and the friction disk 7.

Upon the rotatable head 11 and flange l1 thereon are supported the yarn tubes 12, 12, which are forced over brass tubes T, T, secured to pins 24, 24, which are in turn secured to the flange 11 by means of nuts 25, and shoulders 26 sunken in the flange. One end of each tube of yarn rests directly upon a felt or other resilient cushion 27, 27. This cushion can be made to conform to the shape of the mass of yarn wound on each tube which is uneven on its bottom, so that the yarn will not get underneath and catch or become tangled in such a manner as to break. This would often occur if the end of the tube of yarns rested directly upon a metal surface. This result is accomplished b means of the clamping nuts 25 which are tightly secured to retain the tubes in place while revolving at a high speed and also serves to prevent the tubes of yarn from getting underneath the end of the tube thereof. The felt cushions may be composed of several layers of felt and have outer and inner rings R, R, of felt next to the flange 11. Made up in this manner the felt washers when compressed by the tubes of yarns have resilience enough to conform themselves to the irregular shape of the bottom of the tube of yarns, and thus prevent the yarns when unwinding from catching underneath. The tubes whereupon the yarn is wound, are tightly forced over the tube standard T, T, so as to offer resistance and permit compression of the lower end of the yarn. At the high rate of speed at which this rotatable head and yarn tubes thereon rotate the yarns in passing from the yarn tubes to their respective tension drums would be caused to fly out from centrifugal force, and hence would become entangled with themselves or with parts of the machine, and therefore the tension could not be controlled and yarns might become broken if not protected. Hence each yarn tube is rovided with a separate chamber 28, 28

aving a covered top so that the yarns cannot escape from control. These chambers are formed in halves hinged together at 2'8, 28', and closed by a latch 29, so that the yarn is confined therein. A conical tube 31 leads from the top of each chamber 28, which serves as a guide to the yarn, and the open end of each conical tube approximated as closely to the adjoining tension drum 32 as possible, so that centrifugal force will have the least possible influence on the yarns. The chambers 28, 28, are secured to the upper extension 13 of the central stem by screws 30, 30. The yarn tubes are readily put in place by opening the chambers on their hinges.

The tension rolls 32 and 33 are mounted upon the standards 35, 35, which are integral with the sleeve 36, which is mounted upon the upper end of the stem or spindle 13, so that all the tension rolls can be put into place or removed together. As shown in Fig. 3 the tension rolls 32 and 33 are arranged in pairs and have circumferential grooves 37, 37, therein, so placed that the yarns can be passed from one roll to the other until all the grooves are filled and the last used groove registers with one of the guide tubes 38, 38, which are preferably inclosed in the central steel tube 14. The guide tubes 38 are equal in number to the yarns preferably four, and are equally spaced in the central opening 39 in the tube 14. They are mounted in a metal head or closure -10 which is perforated at 41, 4;]. for the passage of the yarns and which is itself secured to the lower end of the tube 14. The tension rolls 32 are preferably stationary and the rolls 33, are preferably rotatable on their axis, and are mounted upon one side or the other of the standard 35 according to the direction of rotation of the head. In Fig. 3 they are shown on the left as the head revolves to the left, and hence receive the thrust of the tension rolls due to the centrifugal force generated by the rotary movement of the head.

In Fig. 10 one of the rotatable tension rolls 33 is shown in longitudinal section. This rotating roll has a predetermined number of parallel, equidistant, circular grooves 37, 37, on its outer periphery. This roll is preferably made of aluminum for lightness to minimize the pressure against its end bearing caused by centrifugal force when the head is rapidly rotated, and is provided with a bushing 90 composed of specially treated wood or'other anti-friction material, which required no lubrication so that the use of oil can be dispensed with, since oil would interfere with the process of vulcanization if it should come in contact with the yarns. At each end a hardened steel thrust washer 91 is employed secured to the aluminum roll which may be recessed to receive it. This drum rotates on a pin 92 secured by means'of a nut 93 to the standard 35, and next to the bracket is placed an anti-friction washer 94.- of specially prepared wood, similar to the bushing 90. A similar anti-fric tion washer 95 is em loyed at the other end. The inner thrust was er 94 is stationary and secured by means of a pin 96 to the standard 35, and the outer thrust washer 95 is secured by a pin 97 to the outer steel washer "91 which in turn is slidingly secured to the graduated dial disk 100 and a nut 101.-

This nut carries a locking and registering spring finger 102, which engages with the teeth 103 on the face of the dial 100. WVhen the nut is screwed down upon the dial the tension roll 33 is compressed between the thrust washers and the amount of tension thereon will be indicated on the dial.

The roll 32- is similar to the roll 33 but is stationary and therefore can be made of aluminum, but is'preit'erably made of hardened and polished steel and secured by a bolt L to the standard 35. The yarn from the tube secured in each chamber passes first over a stationary roll 32 and is wound backward and forward over the grooves 37, 37, in this roll and in the rotatable roll 33 upon which the tension is adjustable. In this manner a definite tension resistance is obtained from the passage of the yarn over the grooves of the stationary roll, and this tension is increased or diminished at will by the number of grooves employed in the stationary roll. This tension resistance can be increased, adjusted and controlled by the use of the rotatable roll 33, in which any given resistance can be obtained by the use of the nut 101 and spring 99, and oilless washers 94 and 95, and oilless bushing 90, and the exact pressure will be indicated in the graduated dial 100 by the finger 102. The action of the oilless washers upon the washers secured to the ends of the drum and the oilless bushing produces a nonchanging condition in the resistance, which could not be obtained by the use of oil, since the oil'could not be retained continuously and. the amount of friction would vary when the machine was in operation.

In Fig. 1*- a horizontal spool W for a central wire or fibrous yarn is shown, the tension drums being the same as those previously described. 42 is a central guide tube which may be used for a central yarn if desired and the lower end of this tube is secured in a larger tube 42' to the lower end of which is secured. the vertically slotted twist former orforming cone 43, and the radial slots 44, 44, therein are preferably enlarged at their innerends at 45, 45, and

slant inwardly toward their lower ends to converge the yarns for twisting. In these slots the outer yarns are inserted for guidance, and this disk forms the foundation for .the twisting movement. A polished steel needle N is shown secured to a cap N insci-ted in the lower end of the central tube 42' and extends verticall downward therefrom. Around this nee 1e the four yarns are twisted. The object in the use of this needle is to prevent-one yarn from assuin- 'The plate 53 is integral wit 1 which is inserted in the sleeve 49. 'Theinner end of each segmental part 46 is vertically ing a central position relatively to the other three yarns so that they will twist upon it when the threads are twisted with a large number of turns per inch. The four strands when twisted together will twist at a certain point on the needle and higher or lower according to the desired number of turns per inch of the finished thread, and also varying with the diameter of the yarns used.

The twisting point of the yarns in order to produce a perfectly smooth thread is held by a twist holder which does not rotate, and through a central opening 47 in whichthe point of the needle enters, the rapidly rotating yarns are drawn. This holder is spaced a distance from the twist former 43, to permit the yarns guided by the slots and cap described to form a twisting point upon the needle within the opening 47. The number of twists per inch is determined by the speed of the pulling drum9 relative to the speed of rotation of the head 11, and the diameter of the arns.

v The twist holder is immersed in the cup 48 for rubber or other coating material and is secured in a sleeve 49 adjustable in a bracket 50, by means of a set screw 50. Again the rubber cup 48 is vertically adjustable upon the sleeve 49 by means of a set screw 51, so that it can be lowered to expose the twisting mechanism therein above the rubber in the cup, when a yarn breaks and must be threaded again in the the circular movement of the rubber caused.

arts therein, whereas if by the revolvin the yarns passe trough the center of the cup the level of the rubber therein would be lowered around the yarns, caused by the circular action of the rubber makin a' vortex around the revolving parts.

his cover is shown in Figs. 5 and4".

To prevent a knot tied in any one of ithe yarns from catching in the opening in the twist holder and thus causinga .age, the holder is separated centrally into four steel segmental parts 46, 46, radially adjustable in guiding slots 52, 52, in-a cirbreakcularplate 53, as shown in Figs. 11 and 16. The inner ends of these parts 46, 46, are cut away .at 90 to closely enga e each other. the tube- .54

grooved so that when they engage with each other the central opening 47 ormed thereby will. be circular. This opening 47 is hell y are retained therein by means or sector shaped plates 55, 55. This construction permits a knot or any other obstruction upon a yarn to press outward the segment which it touches and when the knot or obstruction has passed the spring will return the segment to its normal position.

In the process of threading the machine holders H, H, are employed to temporarily retain the yarns, while they are being threaded through the guide tubes 38, 38.

The instrumentalities for automatically stopping the machine when a yarn or the thread breaks and for sounding an alarm are constructed as follows :as shown in Figs. 12, 13, 14 and 17. Attached to the hollow rod-4L2 which holds the twister plate, is a sleeve 80 for fiber or other insulation which has four slots 81, 81 extending from the outer circumference toward the center, through which pass the four strands before they reach the twister former. On the upper part of this sleeve are secured the sections 82, 82 of a bronze or copper sleeve extending above the upper part of the fiber sleeve, leaving an empty space 83 between the rod and these sections. In this space freeto move outward from the rod to make contact with these copper or bronze sleeve sections are four shaped copper or bronze blocks. 84, 84, respectively secured to the bottom end of four extremely 'thin spring er ends metallic conductors 85, 85, whose u are secured to the hollow rod 42. T e yarns pass downward in the slots of the V shaped blocks. Thus these four blocks tend to fly outward from centrifugal force when the tube holder rotates rapidly and are restrained from so doin only by the yarns, which pass downwar under a predeter mined tension through the slots in these blocks. radially in line with the slots in the copper or bronzesleeve sections and with the slots in tlie -fiber sleeve. In this inner space 83 next to the rod the fourRbronze or cop er sections are electrically connected toget er for the passage of an a electric current. Touching the outer circumferences of these copper or bronze sleeve sections, is a bronze or copper flexible flat spring rod 65, whose other end is secured to a hinge pin 87 which rotates in a flanged fiberbushing 88 in the electromagnet.

The centers of these blocks are,

head of an eyebolt 89 which is screwed into the gear guard 89 on the machine. This hinge pin is thus insulated. from the machine. This hinge pin 87 on its lower end carries a helical spring which is under compression between the bottom of the flanged fiber bushing before mentioned, and a nut 61 on the hinge pin. This makes the spring rod stationary in any positionit 1 may be placed. This hinge pin is connected in an electric circuit with the coil C of an (See Fig. 1.) The other end of the magnet coil is connected to one terminal of a battery B and the other ter- 'minal of this battery is connected to the machine thus grounding the current in the machine. An electric circuit is completed through the electromagnet when a strand breaks while the machine is in operation, by the little V shaped blocks previously mentioned, which fly outward and touch two of the bronze sleeve sections. The core or ar mature 62 of this electromagnet is pivotally connected to a lever 63 which is mounted on a bracket 64 attached to the twisting machine frame. A downward lip 65 on the under side of the short element of this lever engages with a correspondin lip 66 proj ecting upward from an arm astened to the belt shifting handle 120. These lips are of hardened steel to prevent excessive wear, are only engaged by a small "surface so that a short movement of the end of the longer element of the lever to which the lunger is attached suflices to disengage these lips. The latter are held in engagement by. the action of the helical spring 67, encircling the plunger stem, one end resting on the washer 68 next to the ma net coil and the other end pushing upwar on to the upper end of the core 62 and pivoting pin 69. The beltshifter handle 120 is secured to a shaft 119 on which it swings freely.

Under the belt shifter handle 120, but moving in a parallel plane therewith is located a bell crank lever'121 mounted on a bracket 122 by a pin 123, and the bracket is attached to the twisting machine. To one end of this bell crank lever is attached a powerful helical spring 124, the other end of which is attached to a in 125 driven into the twisting machine rame. To the other end of this bell crank lever is attached a flanged pin 126 one end extending upward and engaging in a slot 127 in the belt shifter .handle and the other end extendin downward through a slot in the bell cran lever 121, held in the position desired by a nut 128, thus giving an "adjustment to the amount of throw. It will thus be seen that when a thread breaks during the operation of the twisting machine an "electric current is set up in the electromagnet G the plunger is pulled downward, the belt shifter handle 120 is released by the induced movement of the magnet core 62 and lever 63, and the bell crank lever moves the belt shifter handle to its limit through the pull of the bell crank lever spring, thus-shifting fork in this arm engages a pin 404 in the sliding bar 405 to which the shifter fork 71 is secured.

The brake is operated as follows: When the belt shifter fork 71 and bar 405 and pin 404 are moved to shift the belt the pin 604 adjustably secured in a bell crank 421 is operated by the. forked end 420 of the shifting lever 120, and the ends of the brake band 16 are respectively secured to the arms 605 and 606 of the bell crank421 and shifting lever 120, and thus when the belt shifter handle operates to throw the belt on to the loose pulley the brake band is tightened 11. (See Fig. 2.)

, It is alsov essential to stop the machine when one of the tubes of yarn becomes empty or nearly so. The following parts have been provided for this purpose. In a radial line witheach tube of yarn a vertical pin 406 or contact rod, projects through a hole in the upper flange 11' of .the tube holder 11, and a short horizontal arm 407 on the upper end of the rod engages against the bottom of theyarn on the tube through a slot 408 in the felt cushion upon which the tube of yarn rests, while the outer end of'this horizontal arm penetrates a vertical'slot 409 provided in a preferably paste board tube upon which the yarn is wound. This contact rod extends downward through the flan e 11" of the tube holder and is provide lower down with a shoulder 410'against'which rests one sion., The other end of the spring rests .on the top of one of the four insulatingblocks 412, spaced around the brake band flange 15 of the tube holder. Each of these four blocks 412, 412 are drilled out to receive the lower end of a contact rod 406 and is also slotted outward from this drilled hole at 413 to permit the upward movement of a pin 414 extending horizontally outward in this 'slot from the contact rod. A contact ring 415 of copper or other suitable material is fastened to the outer parts ofand connects these insulating blocks and 66' its lower part is vertically slotted at 416 thus to admit the passage of the contact pin 414 .in the lower part of the slot 413. Resting against the outer part of this contact ring is a spring rod or contact brush 417, (see Fig. 2), mounted on a pin 418 pivoted in an eye bolt 420, whose eye is insulated by an insulated bushing 419. The lower end of this pin has a nut compressing a helical spring encircling the pin and resting the lower part of the insulating bushing similar in all respects to the one shown in Fig. 14. This causes the contact brush 417 to stay in any position it may be placed. This ..pin is electrically connected in circuit with the same electromagnet coil C and battery 13 as is the corresponding contact brush 1 for detecting the breaking of a yarn or lower end makes contact with the band 415 surroundingthe insulating blocks 412, 412 completing the electrical circuit through the brush 417 through the magnet and battery and thereby automatically stops the machine by the operation of the belt A signal bell K may also be included in the circuit of the battery-B so as to sound .an alarm when a yarn or yarns break or a shifter andbrake as before described and for the purpose herein set, forth. around the flange 11 ofthe rotating head knot pulls apart or any one of the tubes of yarn becomes exhausted or nearly so.

The mechanism for changing automatically the speed of the pulling drums relatively to the speed of rotation of the .head containing the yarn tubes for the purpose of forming zones in the cord or thread which will recur at regular intervals and in which the number of twists er inch is different from the number of twists per inch in inter mediatefportions .is constructed as follows To give the variations in speed desired for the active thread pulling drum relatively to the speed ofthe operating shaft 8, large and small spur gears 200 and 201 are sleeved uponsald shaft 8, each having clutch teeth upon their adjacent faces at, 202 and 203 respectively. Between these spur gears is slldably mounted upon the same shaft a clutch 204, having clutch teeth 205 and 206 upon its outer faces, adapted to engage alternately with said spur gears, and engaging with the spline 207 wherebyit is caused to rotate with the shaft 8 of the friction disk or other suitable driving mechanism. Upon the shaft of the active pulling drum 9 are keyed the small and large spur gears 208 and. 209 respectively. The large gear 209 engaged with the small gear 201 upon the shaft 8 of the friction disk, orother suitable driving mechanism, and the gears 200 and 208 also engage with each-other. The

gears 200 and 201 are driven gears and hence site pins 210, which engage the annular slot- 211 therein. This clutch fork is hinged at 212 for a swinging movement upon a bracket 213,-'secured upon the stud 213 which supports the idler thread pulling drum. The clutch is operated by the following automatically acting mechamsm. 214 is a clutch fork lever which is secured to a shaft 215, to which also a shifting lever 218 is secured. The clutch fork lever is provided with a pin 216 engaging a slot 217 in the fork 210 so that when the shifting lever rotates through a small are the clutch fork will be moved to shift the clutch 204 so as to engage one or the other of the clutch.

gears 200 or 201. The shifting lever shaft 215 extends in a direction transverse to the axis of the clutch gears mentioned. The shifting lever 218 is provided with a yielding extremity or shoe 219 which 'is longitudinally movable in the shifting lever and is placed constantly under the pressure of a spring 220 within the lever. A cotter or pin 221 in the shank of the shoe extends through a slot 222 in the lever and prevents the spring from throwing out the shoe. The shiftirig lever 218 is engaged by a double dog engaging lever having two arms 223 and 227. This double lever operates the shifting lever 218 to throw the clutch 204 so as to engage the gear 200 and give the highest rate of speedto the active thread pulling drum 9. Alternating with the action of this double dog engaging lever the reversing lever 224 engages the shoe 219 and acts to reverse the movements of the shifting arm clutch, to give the lowest sp'eed to the active thread pulling drum. A single dog engaging lever 225 acts to operate the reversing lever. The levers 223 andv 224 are provided A with beveled ends @and e which engage the shifting lever shoe when moving in one direction and push it in against the action of the spring 220 soas to pass by the shoe when moving in the other direction. The single.

and double dog engaging levers are mounted I loosely on a common pivot shaft 226.. The

double dog engaging lever is provided with a long arm 227 and with the short beveled dog-engaging arm 223. The'single dog en gaging lever 225 is provided with an extended toe 228-and'pin-229 which entersa slot or opening 230 in the-reversing lever 224 and by its movement rocks the reversing lever. The reversing lever is pivoted on the supporting bracket '231-and. 23L; -which -is attached 1 to the support for the frictiomdisk bearing- These dog engag'ingi levers' are op-- erated to move the clutch so as to alternately operate the pulling drum at high and low speeds, for a predetermined perlod of time, by means of the dogs 232 and 233, which are adjustably spaced upon the slowly rotating disk and worm wheel 234 so as to throw the shifting lever and shift the clutch twice in each revolution of the worm wheel. The relative speed of movement of the worm wheel to the speed of the friction disk and shaft 8 determines the amount of thread pulled through in one revolution of the fric tion disk. To this end the worm wheel 234 is operated by a worm or screw 235, and this in turn by the spur gears 236, 237, 238 and 239, which can be changed at pleasure to vary the relative rates of speed of the shaft 8 and worm wheel. The gear 236 is secured to the friction disk shaft and rotates therewith. The dogs 232 and 233 are adjustably secured in slots 240 and 244 respectively which are placed on opposite sides of the worm wheel 234, so that each can engage its particular lever without interfering with the action of the other. In this manner the dogs can be placed on the disk at any relative angle so as to increase or diminish the period of time elapsing between the movements of the clutch and thereby control the speed of the pulling drum, to produce the described differently twisted zones in the thread. The dogs are adjustably retained in their slots by. means of the screws F having heads which engage the dovetail edges G of these slots and nuts 240'. The dog levers 223 and 224 are provided with return springs 241 and 242 respectively, (see Figs. 7 and 8), which return them to their normal position when inactive. These springs are secured to the levers and to the bracket 231. The oper- 'ation of this portion of the device is as follows: When the friction disk 7-is rotated by the friction roll 6 the worm 235 and worm wheel 234 are also rotated throu h the train of gears 236, 237, 238 and 239. s the worm wheel rotates in the direction of the arrows as shown in Fig. 6, the dog 232 thereon has just commenced to engage the long arm 227 upon the double lever, while the clutch 204 is engaging with the small slow gear 201 on .the friction disk shaft 8 and is kept in engagement therewith by the reversin lever 224, which is then holding back the sifting arm .218. The reversing lever is held in thisv position by the action of the pin 22%) upon the toe 228 of the single dog en aging lever 225- seouredupon-the same-shaft as the re versing lever 224, and at). that time .-con-' trolled lay-means .of the spring worm wheel rotates the dog 232.1'eaohes; the position shown-in Fig.0, where thelong arm .227 of. the double levermis seenat the point ofdisengagement from the: .dog; 232.; During-this movement the beveled-end -e of the 1 short arm 223 of the doubleleverhas- 

